Up until now, planetariums have been mainly scientific and educational spaces, and contemporary art has rarely been displayed in them. Yet planetariums offer a rare opportunity to enjoy immersive communal experiences. It was in planetariums that digital projection processes and spatial sound situations were created and tested at the turn of the millennium, developing new standards that later became so important for VR films. With The New Infinity, the Berliner Festspiele in co-production with Planetarium Hamburg are making the hardware and technical knowledge of planetariums available in order to promote new works by filmmakers, game designers and sound artists. In this way, they are supporting the development of specific works of art for this new medium – the immersive genre of fulldome projection – which is becoming increasingly accessible in the digital age. Planetariums can be seen as the galleries of the future, places to experience new reality in the field of contemporary art as it intersects with developments in universities, museums and high-tech research centres worldwide.

All year round, Berliner Festspiele (Germany) hosts a multitude of festivals, exhibitions and individual events. An annual programme includes the exhibitions and events at Gropius Bau, the festivals MaerzMusik – Festival for Time Issues, Theatertreffen, Musikfest Berlin and Jazzfest Berlin, the programme series Immersion as well as four National Contests for young people. Since Thomas Oberender was appointed director in 2012, Berliner Festspiele has been focusing on topics like performativity, alternative means of artistic production and cross-genre approaches. In 2016, Immersion was launched to present the works of artists who redefine established forms of presentation by breaking down classic juxtapositions between the work and the visitor, the stage and the auditorium, the object and the viewer. The New Infinity explores planetariums as the galleries of the future and has commissioned a series of works by contemporary artists since 2017 that have been presented in planetariums and fulldome festivals around the world. This year’s edition will be held for the first time in the Zeiss-Großplanetarium, Berlin.